The gathering at Fort George was held for the eighth consecutive year from July 27 to 31. The weather didn’t want to cooperate this year again as gusty winds and rainfalls were omnipresent.
The events were delayed by one day as problems occurred with the barge operation, so Friday began with the baby bottle contest followed by the grease pole.
The latter one had a good level of difficulty as it took nearly four hours to be conquered. An amount of $500 cash had been set on the top of it Many repeated their attempts but to no avail.
There was also the orange peeling contest wearing gloves. There were dances held in the evenings, and daily feasts composed of BBQ trout steaks and corn on the cob were greatly appreciated. A fundraising breakfast was held on Saturday morning for youth activities.
Most of the families travelled back and forth from Chisasibi by canoe daily.
For the others, there was a bus service to and from the barge area, where canoes would bring people across.
A traditional pow wow was also held August 10 through the 13th, where several invited drums performed from across Canada. Famed names as Fly-in Eagle from Little Pine, Sask.; White Tail from North Bay, Ont; Seekaskootoh from Hobbema, Alberta; High Rock Cree from Cross Lake, Manitoba.
As the years go, by more and more Chisasibi’ers are establishing permanent housing facilities as a home away from home on the Island, confirming the fact that the majority never wanted to move inland in the first place.
But beyond the events that took place, one could feel each individual’s strong sense of belonging rooted to this island that was part of their daily lives not so long ago.
